Info: The Paisas or Mexicles are a street gang with ties to the Gulf Cartel. They have been known to operate in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

18. Paisas/Mexicles

Tier threat ranking: Tier 3

Info: The Paisas or Mexicles are a street gang with ties to the Gulf Cartel. They have been known to operate in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.

Photo: Rebecca Blackwell, STF

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17. Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos

Tier threat ranking: Tier 3

Info: Translated as the "Brotherhood of Latin Gunmen," the Pistoleros Latinos formed in Texas prisons in the 1980s. Many of their members have been arrested for drug trafficking and firearms charges within San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Houston.

Info: The Gangster Disciples are one of the largest active street gang in Southeast Texas. They are a predominantly black gang and have been reported to be involved in human trafficking as well as other illicit businesses.

Info: Originating in Hidalgo, Texas, the Texas Chicano Brotherhood first started as a prison gang but has since recruited members outside of the penal system. Its relationship with Mexican cartels make them a significant threat.

Info: The Aryan Circle began in the Texas penal system in 1985, and has since moved across the globe to promote white supremacy ideologies and profit off criminal activities, including firearm trafficking and methamphetamine.

Info: The Sureños originated under the umbrella of the California Mexican Mafia, but many of Texas Sureños gang members have no connection with the California-based gang. Texas Public Safety officials believes the Sureños will "strive to establish a stronger presence in Texas in the near future."

Info: The Bario Azteca are predominantly found in El Paso and Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Their statewide strength has been weakened by law enforcement efforts as well as infighting, according to Texas safety officials.

Info: The Partido Revolucionario Mexicano began as an organized prison gang in Texas. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, its members are mainly Mexican nationals, "many of whom were illegal aliens who committed crimes in Texas, and were subsequently deported once they were released from prison." The PRM now operate in both Mexico and Texas.

Info: The Bloods were originally an offshoot clique to the Crips gang, but are now their own violent street gang and main rivals to the Crips. They began in Los Angeles in the early 1970s and spread to Texas in the 1980s.

Info: The Crips are a criminal street gang that began in Los Angeles in the 1960s but eventually spread to Texas in the mid-1980s, according to Texas officials. They primarily threaten large metropolitan areas of Texas.

Info: The Texas Syndicate is a prison gang that began in the California penal system but moved to Texas prisons and streets. Its rivals, Tango Blast, as well as law enforcement have weakened the gang's strength in Texas. However, the Texas Syndicate's relationship with Mexican cartels allows it to be a "resilient criminal threat," according to the newest Texas Gang Threat Assessment.

Info: According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas is continually used as a "transitional zone" for MS-13 members traveling to the U.S. East coast. In addition, officials said the "constant influx of illegal members crossing into the state" exemplifies the gang's threat level.

Info: The Mexican Mafia began in the Texas prison system in 1984 and has since grown to be a significant gang that continues to engage in organized criminal activity despite being continuously targeted by law enforcement.

Info: The Latin Kings have an estimated 1,300 members in Texas and have significant presence in many suburban and rural areas of Texas, according to Texas safety officials. The gang also has a direct connection with the Chicago-based Latin Kings, providing the gang with resources and structure.

A fourth reputed member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in the killing of an Austin man who tried to start a chapter of the rival Hell’s Angels in 2006.

At a hearing in San Antonio’s federal court, Norberto “Hammer” Serna Jr., 36, a member of the Bandidos’ San Antonio Centro Chapter, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm during murder in aid of racketeering in the slaying of Anthony W. Benesh III. The chapter’s sergeant-at-arms, Jesse James “Kronic” Benavidez, 40, pleaded guilty to the same charge Monday.

Chapter member Robert Romo, 45, and his brother, Johnny “Downtown Johnny” Romo, 47, the Bandidos’ national sergeant-at-arms, pleaded guilty Friday to murder in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm during murder in aid of racketeering.

The Bandidos had long been suspected of the hit on Benesh, who was gunned down March 18, 2006, in front of his girlfriend and two children as they left Saccone’s Pizza in Austin, but the slaying went unsolved. A recent crackdown on the Bandidos squeezed information from some its members about Benesh’s killing, federal authorities said in court recently.

The San Antonio Express-News first reported in mid-September that the four had reached plea deals in Benesh’s killing.

Benesh, 44, had been wearing a motorcycle vest depicting the Hell’s Angels’ death head and colors, despite being told by the Bandidos that he could not do so in Texas, which is Bandidos territory, and that he would be killed if he didn’t stop, according to federal court documents.

“Members of the Bandidos … warned Benesh to cease his activities and recruitment, which Benesh ignored,” federal prosecutors said in a news release. The four Bandidos “murdered Benesh … to protect the power, reputation and territory of the Bandidos enterprise.”

The murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence. The discharging a firearm count carries a sentence of up to life.

Sentencing for Serna was set for June 4. The other three defendants will be sentenced in May.